The writing was great and the narrative voice really distinctive, but in the end I just couldn't get into it enough. Really wanted to enjoy it

I really struggled with the slow start of this book and it just failed to grab me for some reason.i liked the style of writing and there was warmth there to the character Abigail but I just couldn't follow closely enough what was happening at the start and missed that initial buzz

Quirky
I’d say the quirkiest book read this year
Well I say book but its more like a friends ramblings or thoughts shooting out left, right and centre and all revolves around Abigail
Abigail has been randomly receiving letters and quips and advice from a kinda self help couple for years, suddenly there is to be a meeting of all the people who have been receiving these letters
And the reason behind it
Which is totally bizarre
I really fell for Abigail in all her zany weirdness and hilarity and trust me she made me laugh, out loud, many times, hard to describe her but her musings, rants and off topic convo’s ‘with you’ are as disarming as they are brilliant!
The story moves forwards, backwards and wherever it fancies to be honest and we get to meet the other people in this ‘chosen group’ and what is happening and happened to them
Its a busy book with many larger than life characters all having ‘’events’ thrust at them
There is a sadness throughout the book re Abigails missing brother Robert who disappears age 15 and the discovery of what exactly happened to him
Chaotic and irrelevant but manages not to offend, bolshy yet cute, many words to describe this bizarrely wonderful creative mad read 😃😃
9/10
5 Stars

I struggled through this unusual book hoping that at some time it would improve but no luck. It was basically a self help book but I found the whole thing too disjointed and I kept losing the plot. I could not relate to the characters as although they were well described they were still far to surreal for my enjoyment. I did find some of the quotes given interesting and they were relative to the idea of self help but as a complete book I did not enjoy it and found the style of writing not to my taste.

Just could not get in to this book really not my cup of tea gave up after I kept putting it down & didnt really want to return to it.

When Abi was 15 two major events occurred. One, her beloved brother Robert, newly diagnosed with MS, went missing. And the second - a mysterious letter arrived inviting her to accept receiving chapters of a 'Guidebook'. These chapters would arrive at random in no particular order throughout her life, culminating in an invitation to attend a retreat where the truth would be revealed. However, the retreat left Abi with more questions than answers. As the story moves between the past and the present we learn more about Abi's life and the effect her brother's disappearance has had on her. With no answers to where he may have gone, she is unable to grieve or find peace. She is haunted by a sense of guilt. Following the retreat, her and a select few others are invited to 'Flight school'. They are told we are all born with the ability to fly, but we lose this innate skill. Sceptical, they do however try to suspend disbelief. As the course runs, they all learn more about themselves and why they were chosen. The course is run by Wilbur, who is fulfilling his dead parents wish that he spread the word. Meeting Wilbur is set to change Abi's life in more ways than one, and he is finally able to provide the answers to her lifelong quest to discover what happened to her brother. Abi learns that 'if you let go of authority, science, fear, preconceptions, gravity - things that weigh on you, things you cling to - the sense of flight will finally kick in'.

A truely original story that will make you think and reconsider how you live your life.

Sadly not a book for me. I loved the synopsis, but couldn't get into the narrative at all and didn't feel I could identify with any of the characters or that they were portrayed in any depth and I ended up skimming through it. Sorry - I'm sure other readers will love it.
Thank you to netgalley and Atlantic books for an advance copy of this book

I wanted to love this book but just couldn’t get involved. I found it disjointed and confusing at times rather than uplifting. I’m sure there are plenty of people who will fall in love with the characters and advice given but sadly I wasn’t one of them.

I'm not surprised this book is getting mixed reviews. Anything that speaks to some people powerfully will turn others off completely; better to be divisive than inspire general lukewarm appreciation, I think. Luckily for me, I am in the 'this book is AMAZING' camp. I LOVE this book. I hope it becomes a cult classic, because it's off-beat and unusual and really stunning. The writing is so powerful – full of character, emotion and warmth. Abi's voice is incredibly well-drawn – funny, moving and unique. It's a book that speaks to a particular kind of pain and longing. It's very rare for me to cry at a book, but I actually wept in the closing stages of this one. It's not going to be for everyone, but I urge you to pick it up and give it a try, because if it's for you then you're in for one of your top reads of the year...

I don't quite know how to describe this book. It was strange, funny, sad, insightful and strange. The style didn't appeal to me much to begin with and I considered stopping reading but I did want to find out where the storyline was going so I kept reading. It was an interesting plot with a couple of equally interesting sub plots. The characters were quirky and their descriptions added depth to the story.

Abi has received random chapters from a book for decades, she is then invited to a remote island to find out why. Confusing as to where the book is going ,at first, then becomes clear.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I want to be friends with the protagonist-she seems like someone I’d like to spend time with.

This is a heart warming read and I would recommend.

Really hard to express how much I loved this book (have also raved about it on Twitter). It's beautifully,and unusually, written and as soon as I finished it I just wanted to go right back to the start and begin all over again. Am actually jealous of people who haven't read it yet! As of Jan, I'll be nagging all my friends to read it.

JACLYN MORIATY – GRAVITY IS THE THING

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

For me, this was a book that grew on me, from ‘I’ve said I’ll read it, so I will’ to all-out enjoyment.

It’s a strange concept: Abi has been receiving since her teenage years messages from an unknown source, which, when she’s an adult, results in her attending lessons on how to fly. Not as, in an aeroplane, but actually fly. I don’t want to spoil the story, which needs to unfold as you read it, but, in the world of this entertaining and very different novel, it is the skill of the author that it all makes absolute sense.

Through this thread run other threads: tracking down her missing brother; Oscar her son; her Happiness café; her husband and lovers; and, of course, the people, like her, who had over the years received the same strange messages.

It’s clever, it’s witty, it’s well researched, and although it wouldn’t have been a novel I chose off the bookshelf to read, by the time I was relishing the superbly written end, I was a willing convert.

This book is an achievement, and I can’t give higher praise than that.

A very different and original basis for a story.
At times the plot rolled along at a good pace and at others is dragged and lacked substance.
The premise of the sense of flight was unique but halfway through it became a precis of many self-help books.
Predictably all the ends were tied up by the end of the story.

Gravity is the thing by Jaclyn Moriarty.
Well......how to review this book. It’s quirky, somewhat fantastical and maybe even a little predictable. However....and it’s a big however, Abigail is honest and insightful and resilient. Let’s be honest, Oscar really can be a little terror with his selfish brutality......but the love between Abi and him is so authentically described and acted out. As for Robert, the idea of your beloved brother just disappearing and the impact on the rest of your life is unimaginable but Abi navigates her life and relationships through this void and brings us on the journey. Elements of coincidence, or opportunity, through the people we meet and how they can so quickly become central in our lives is uplifting (and so true) In Abi’s case it’s key to saving something precious (don’t want to spoil the story here) but so often in life it can be that person who saves our house/health/career/sanity. Then there’s the kindness of strangers, forever remembered and appreciated. This is a very poignant story of survival and recovery. Definitely keep the hankies close

Leave your cynicism at the door and fly with this beautiful book! Abi’s brother has been missing for years, her marriage has ended and she is raising her son alone while building her business - a cafe dedicated to happiness. Since her 16th birthday she has been receiving chapters of a self help book entitled, The Guidebook. One day she is sent an invitation to go for a retreat given by the Guidebook’. Is everything that follows meant to be or just a series of coincidences?

I found the writing style to be a major obstacle in getting into this book. It is a shame because it is beautifully packaged and the quotes are terrific, the cover is gorgeous. I just couldn't stand the stream-of-consciousness style in which this was written or understand how we were going to care about this character.

I found this a very difficult book to review, it is certainly very different to the normal type of book that I read. It flits between the past and the story of Abi's brother Robert, who disappeared then and the present. Here she is invited to a seminar to follow up on a self - help book that she has been receiving chapters from over the last 20 years. A couple of times I left the book to read something lighter, however in both cases I was drawn back to continue the story the interweaving threads of the plot drew towards the surprising finale.

Right form the start of this novel we when we meet Abi - with her stream of consciousness narrative - we recognise Moriarty has a very captivating way of writing. The hook that catches the reader is the same as the one that duly reels in Abi. And that is the chance to learn who has been sending her random chapters, of a self-help guide, over a 20 year period, and, more importantly why? When she receives an invitation to take an all expenses paid trip, to a retreat off the coast of Australia, to find out the real truth about the book she is sufficiently intrigued to take it up. From this point on we follow the group and how they interact with Wilbur whose role is seemingly to try and teach them how to defy gravity and fly. After the weekend a somewhat unenlightened Abi returns to Sydney where she owns and manages her "happiness" coffee shop. Then a letter arrives from Wilbur inviting Abi to Tuesday evening sessions at his flat, along with others from the weekend, at which he hopes to encourage them further in the belief they can fly. These meetings turn out to be decidedly more fun than the attendees ever expected and gradually we are led more deeply into their respective lives. The end is pure joy and the empathy we acquire for each of the characters is a tribute to Moriarty's excellent writing. Humour, tragedy, love and self-revelation is what this book is about. a totally original concept - beautifully executed.